LONDON: The cost of energy for British consumers will rise by 80% from October, regulator Ofgem said on Friday, taking average annual household bills to 3,549 pounds ($4,188).

Ofgem said it was not giving projections for January when a new cap will take effect because the market remained too volatile, but it said the market for gas in winter means that prices could get “significantly worse” through 2023.

Energy bills have soared this year after wholesale gas and power prices, already rising after the pandemic, surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Moscow’s move to curtail gas exports to Europe.

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The new average bill for electricity and gas for 24 million households means energy bills will have almost trebled from October last year when they were an average of 1,277 pounds, a major factor in inflation rising to a 40-year high.